


Sleepless

by honestgrins



Series: Bingo! [5]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, No thank you, bingo: nightmare, klaroween, klaroween bingo, post-TO canon except Klaus didn't die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 08:49:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16194155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Sometimes, they can't sleep for the bad memories collected over the years. (For Klaroween Bingo: Nightmare)





	Sleepless

Sleepless nights were nothing new to him, not after a thousand years of running from and inflicting various horrors. There were instances where he simply didn't have the time, for fear of being caught by Mikael. Others, he simply couldn't rest with a muse haunting him until he laid it bare on the canvas, imprisoning it in oils far from his racing mind. The occasional lover managed to prove themselves worthy, and he might find himself unwilling to waste hours on sleep until he could tire of them in more ways than one.

But then, there were the nightmares.

Mikael's brutality, mere children flinching before his anger. Phantom hallucinations of his family urging him to end it all while suffering the Hunter's Curse. Reliving his first transition, the terrifying moments while breaking every bone in his body, always waking up before he could reach the elated joy of finally indulging the wolf. Each of his siblings as they turned grey, his own hand holding the dagger as they struggled against desiccation. Elijah disappearing altogether, taking the Hollow's danger with him for good. Again and again, and again.

They had become few and far between since Caroline shared his bed, a fact which Klaus was doubly grateful for. However, he hadn't been prepared for how to handle _her_ nightmares. When he couldn't close his eyes despite the warmth of her at his back, Klaus wasn't sure what kept him awake - until her grip tightened around his stomach, nails digging into his side as she whimpered into his neck. Having woken her up during such an episode before, he quickly learned from her scared and irritable reaction that it wasn't an ideal solution. Upon a more rational discussion, he also learned that dream manipulation was very much out of bounds. Instead, he turned slowly in her arms, trying not disturb her while holding her close. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he waited for her to calm down. 

As she relaxed against him, Klaus breathed a sigh of relief. His hand skimmed up and down her back in a subtle effort to rouse her. With a hum in her throat, Caroline cracked open one eye. "Yeah?"

"You were dreaming again," he answered softly. "It didn't sound pleasant."

Squeezing her eyes shut, she melted into his embrace. Her nose nuzzled into the curve of his shoulder, a tactic she often used as a distraction technique. "I don't want to talk about it."

Klaus sighed, disappointed. It had been five years since they found each other again, and they went through hard times as he grieved Elijah and struggled to parent Hope. Trust was a sore subject given the history between them, and Caroline intentionally keeping her nightmares from him didn't help. "Because you're too upset," which he could force himself to respect, "or because you don't want to tell me?" That usually meant it had to do with Stefan, yet another sore subject only time would allow them to address.

"Because you're comfy," she replied, her tone stubborn. 

His smile was grim. "Caroline."

Groaning, she pressed a kiss to his collarbone. "Uh oh, that's your serious _we need to talk_ voice. And I thought I was your sweetheart?"

"You," he sighed as he tangled his fingers in her hair, "are utterly precious, my love. You are also avoiding the question."

Their bedroom was quiet, a small peace while she gathered her thoughts. "It was about the wedding," she finally said. Her hands tightened in his shirt when he tensed at the admission. "The fire, when I wanted to run in and save the girls and Bonnie." Tears welled in her eyes, so Klaus kept his touch soothing. "But I also _didn't_ want to. I'm a survivor, Klaus. Call it a legacy of my making, but it took five hundred years for time to catch up to Katherine Pierce. I want twice that. Three times, four."

Klaus kissed her forehead again. "You'll have it," he vowed. "As long as you let me, I won't lose you when I can't follow." That was another nightmare that plagued him, the awful chance that he might not be around to protect her from death.

"That's not the point." Her voice was small, miserable. "My mother once pointed a gun at me because I was the monster who took her daughter's place. I don't even have that excuse. The girls were _girls_ , perfectly healthy and lovely and in danger..." Caroline trailed off in horror. "And I let my very human husband hold me back from saving them because _I_ didn't want to die."

Pushing back the hair from her face, Klaus carefully looked her over. "You can't blame yourself forever," he said, smirking when she rolled her eyes. "I know I'm not the best example of said wisdom-"

"I should think not."

"-but I will never fault that survival instinct of yours. I'm a selfish man, after all, and I must admit that I would burn the world twice over if it meant saving your life or Hope's." She narrowed her eyes, and he knew it was the obvious omission stoking her ire. Yet another concession he'd made to join their lives together. "Or our families."

Caroline shrugged. "It's not exactly a rational decision I get to make," she pointed out. "Nightmares will come whether I learn to accept my faults or not."

He lowered his lips to hers for a soft kiss. "Perhaps I just want you to be able to find peace once you wake."

Smiling up at him, Caroline traced his mouth with light fingers. "That's what I have you for." She snuggled back into his side, and Klaus finally let his eyes drift closed for a deep, deep sleep.


End file.
